He reached for the beverage exactly where he’d been told it was and savored a mouthful.
“Perfect, as always. You make an excellent cup of coffee. Now, tell me about the furniture. What did you bring me, where did you put it, and how am I going to navigate around it? Oh, yeah — what color is it?”
“I’ve recreated the color scheme from the apartment. I’ll walk you through once the movers have finished unloading it. By the way, will I be assuming kitchen duties?” Nathan asked. “The cupboards are bare. I brought the coffee essentials with me, but all you have for breakfast is cold cereal. I can make toast, since I brought a toaster.”
Nick laughed. “I’ve taken a liking to pre-sweetened cereal — you can eat it without milk and I can’t make a mess if I eat it right out of the box. As far as meals are concerned, the woman moving in will be doing the cooking for us. I’m assuming Katrina will look after herself and the security guards. Misty will make all the dinners, but you might have to make breakfast and lunch once in a while. We’ll work that out once she gets here. Now, before we tour my newly furnished house, tell me who you’ve brought up for security.”
“There have been a few changes since you left the city. Katrina and Bill are married, so I brought him; I thought you wouldn’t want to separate newlyweds.” Nick nodded his head. As always, Nathan was correct.
“I brought John, too; his size is intimidating, but he’s the man you want with you in a fight. He’s also a hunter and a crack shot, and apparently he’s an amateur gardener. I figured that would make a good cover story for him, and we can come up with something for the others. You did want them armed, so they’re all carrying. Will you notify the local sheriff or shall I?”
“I’ll talk to him later today. He’s a member of the cast in Micah’s musical, so it shouldn’t pose a problem. They all have a stake in keeping their star safe.”
• • •
The smell of fresh-brewed coffee woke Misty, who sat up, momentarily confused. Debbie and the others were still asleep, and she lay back and took stock of everything that had happened. Since it was important that things be as normal as possible for Debbie, she’d send her to daycare today. Charlotte was still here, and Micah had volunteered to pick her up and take her to her house so she could evaluate the damage done by the fire. He could drop the girls at daycare on the way. She knew his SUV was equipped with built-in child seats.
She’d forgotten to ask about her own vehicle, but given that she’d left it parked on the street and not in the driveway, she hoped it was okay. The driveway. They’d sealed it just yesterday, and the bill would come next week. She shook her head. Sometimes life threw you one too many curve balls.
Amos would know about her car, and he was coming for her in a couple of hours. The first thing she’d have to do was contact her insurance company, but since her agent was a member of the cast and had been waiting for his wife when she’d gotten the message from Charlotte about the fire, he already knew. She’d make the call anyway to make sure that she crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s. If the fire had been an accident, she’d need the insurance money to rebuild.
Amos would take her to get the clothes and sundry items she and Debbie needed to start over, something she’d done each time they’d been relocated. The difference was this time the cost would come out of her pocket until the insurance claim was settled. If she made sure everything could be mixed and matched, she’d be able to get by with fewer garments. She had her coat and the new outfit she’d bought the other day, since she’d been wearing them. Debbie had nothing but a pair of pajamas and some of Christy’s clothes Charlotte had put on her. At least she had her rain jacket, since it had been raining when Misty had brought her to Charlotte last night.
Charlotte stirred across from her and sat up.
“Wow! I slept like a log.” She stretched. “That coffee smells heavenly. What time is it?”
“Just after seven; the girls should be awake soon. Come with me and I’ll fill you in on what I know. The princesses can use another half-hour of beauty sleep.”
Charlotte laughed softly and followed Misty out to the lounge. The night nurse offered them each a cup of the coffee she’d made and went to get it.
“So, it looks as though my house is toast, but yours should be okay after a thorough cleaning and new siding,” Misty finished.
The nurse came back with the coffee, and while she added milk and sugar, Misty went on to explain Nick’s job offer to Charlotte.
“If that gorgeous hunk of man had offered me a home, I’d have taken it in a shot, even if it meant washing toilets and doing his laundry every day. You love to cook; it’s a match made in Heaven. I guess I’ll check into a motel for the duration.”
“Don’t be silly. You can stay with me. Nick suggested it. The apartment has three bedrooms. The girls can bunk together, and we can each have a room of our own. I don’t know what kind of furniture the apartment has, but I’m sure we can make it work for a few weeks. It’ll help Debbie adjust, and I know that, whether you want to believe it or not, it’ll help Christy as well.”
“Are you sure? You don’t even know how much space you’ll have, and you want to take in houseguests?”
“I’m positive,” Misty answered. “And you’re not just houseguests; you’re family. I’m sure there’s more than enough room in the Taylor mansion for another woman and child. I’ve got Nick’s cell number, and I’ll let him know you’re coming. I have to be honest, I still need you to babysit for me when I’m at the theater.”
“Say no more. I’m in, and I’ll help in whatever way I can. I can help clean up and do dishes. I wasn’t looking forward to spending the next couple of weeks in a motel room with a four-year-old. I’ll need to buy clothes for a couple of days, too, since I’m sure everything at my place reeks of smoke.”
The automatic doors swished open, and Laura walked in.
“How are my houseguests this morning? Did you manage to get some sleep? I brought you coffee and muffins, but I see Mavis is ahead of me. Oh well, you can never have too much coffee in the morning, right? I take it the girls are still asleep?”
“Yes,” Charlotte said, reaching for one of the coffee cups Laura held. “Christy’s usually awake before me, so coffee in peace and quiet is a luxury.”
“Here, here,” said Misty and hoped everyone was buying her bravado. What she wanted to do was find a corner where she could curl up and hide from the world — a corner that included space for her daughter and Nick. “By the way, Laura, Charlotte has agreed to come and stay with me at Nick’s until she can move back into her house.”
“That’s great. I thought Micah was going to have a stroke when you said Amber could take your place. Not that a good scare isn’t what he needs now and then,” Laura teased. “Charlotte, he should be here soon to take you back to your place. By the way, Misty, he asked me to tell you that your car is at the dealership. The firemen had it towed so they could get closer to the house.”
Misty smiled. That was one less worry. “That’s good news. By the way, does Nick have any food allergies or dislikes that I should know about?”
Laura laughed. “My brother-in-law eats anything, although he’s a big fan of Italian food; his mother was Italian. He wasn’t kidding about the sweet tooth; he loves all things chocolate. He’s a wine snob, but other than that, anything goes.”
Misty described the menu she’d planned for supper and Laura smiled. “He’ll love that. Asparagus is one of his favorite vegetables. I hear Micah and I will be there, too — an impromptu homecoming party for both of you.”
“Mommy?”
Misty turned to see Debbie coming out of the room, Hornakin, as she called the stuffed unicorn that was never far from her, tucked under her arm, and Green Blankie trailing on the floor. That blanket had seen better days, but this probably wasn’t the best time to take
it away from her. She smiled at her daughter and crossed to meet her. “Morning, sweetheart,” Misty said, reaching down and picking her up. “How’d you sleep?”
Debbie giggled. “With my eyes closed.” It was a standard joke they’d had for the past few months. The drive from Seattle to Pine Falls had been a long one. When she’d been let out of the car at the end of each day, Debbie had often refused to go to bed, wanting to run around and play instead. Misty had told her that one of these days she’d fall asleep with her eyes open. The child had thought the idea that someone could sleep with their eyes open hilariously funny, but Misty had seen her daughter do just that each time she’d had a night terror. She watched as Debbie’s face grew serious.
“Our house burned down, Mommy. I saw the fire. All our stuff is gone again. Where are we going to live this time?” The worry on her child’s face broke her heart, but she also realized what a dangerous thing her daughter had said — “all our stuff is gone again.” It wasn’t good for people to know that they were starting over another time. How many times did Debbie remember?
“I have a surprise for you; we’re going to live in a big, fancy house that has its own pool, and there’ll be lots of room for you to play. Charlotte and Christy are going to live with us while their house is fixed. We’ll get you some new toys and a new trike. What color would you like?”
Her old tricycle had been secondhand, and Misty hoped the idea of getting a new one would ease the loss and keep her from repeating that they were starting over again.
“A pink one, and I want all the princess dolls so they can play together and a house for them. Dolls need a house, too.” Since houses suddenly seemed so important, Misty would have to try to get a dollhouse as soon as possible.
“I might not be able to get everything today, but I’ll do my best.” She looked up and saw Christy running over to Charlotte, who stood as her daughter reached her.
“Since Christy’s awake, too, and I’ve finished my coffee, how about I get the ladies dressed and get some breakfast into them while you finish yours?” Charlotte asked.
“I’d really appreciate that. I want to ask Laura a couple more questions. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course not.” Charlotte turned to the girls. “Okay ladies, let’s get dressed and go raid the kitchen.” Debbie squealed and together with Christy raced back into the ward.
Laura sat down, and Misty sat in the chair next to her. “You looked concerned. If you’re worried about Debbie, don’t be. I told you, she’s fine.”
Misty reddened slightly. “You’re right; I’m worried, but not about Debbie. Are you Nick’s doctor?”
Laura shook her head. “He sees a specialist in Syracuse at the university. Let me guess — you want to know why he can’t see.”
Misty nodded. “Can you tell me?”
“No, I can’t tell you why he can’t see; no one can. But I can tell you what’s wrong with him. He has conversion disorder.”
“What’s that?”
“Conversion disorder used to be called hysteria and has been around forever under one name or another. It causes neurological symptoms, in Nick’s case, blindness. But there is absolutely no organic reason why he can’t see. They’ve done all the tests. In fact, he can see, he just doesn’t realize it; his brain won’t transmit the message. My sister was beautiful, but she was spoiled and willful. While Nick was away, she aborted their child. He blames himself for the death of that child, although I don’t know how he thinks he could have stopped her.” Her face was sad, and Misty understood that, although she might not have liked her sister, Laura had loved her.
“The doctors have told Nick this, but telling a man there’s nothing wrong with his eyes when he truly believes he deserves to be blind for what he did won’t cure him. He could recover his vision any day; he just needs a reason to let go of his misplaced guilt. I think he’s afraid of letting someone else down, of failing them in some way. He seems to want to help you, and giving him a purpose could be the best medicine.”
“Thanks for telling me, Laura; I know it wasn’t easy.”
Laura chuckled. “I loved her, but Rebecca was her own worst enemy. She was never satisfied with the adoration she had. She always wanted more. Nick was the best thing that ever happened to her, but she threw him away just like she did her child. He deserves to be happy someday. I’m not a religious person, but I’d like to think she’s happy now.”
For a moment, Misty wondered if she was being fair to Nick by moving into his house. She might be forcing him into a dangerous situation, but like the night she’d left Kevin, she’d do whatever it took to keep her baby safe.
• • •
Nick walked from the kitchen to the living room/dining room without hitting a single thing. He strolled over to the gas fireplace, flipped the switch to turn it on, and then went over to his recliner. He picked up the remote and turned on the flat-screen television above the firebox, changed the channel to a children’s television network, and sat down.
“Well done, sir,” said Roberts. “Now, how about getting us a drink?”
Nick stood and walked over to the portable bar, opened the small fridge and asked, “Beer or soda?”
“Soda, sir; a cola, if you don’t mind.”
Nick reached into the second shelf on the left side and removed the appropriate cans of pop for Nathan and himself.
“You’ve passed all the tests, sir. The lady will never know this hasn’t been here forever.”
“Nathan, if this is going to work, you’ll have to stop calling me sir. You have to call me Nick, and make sure you dress casually. It won’t surprise her that I have an assistant — after all, I am blind — but we want her to think this is a relaxed household.
“You’re right, Nick,” he answered, emphasizing the name. “In fact, I wore jeans and a T-shirt today since I was going to be helping them unpack. Do you want a tour upstairs, or do you want to wait for Misty?”
“I’ll wait. Now, before she gets here, I want to know what Vince has learned about the people I mentioned.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting Alexis Michaels McKenzie. She’s an expert fire investigator, probably the best there is. Up until a year ago, she worked for Vulcan Fire and Arson Investigations in San Francisco. She has an uncanny ability to profile a fire — tell you exactly how it started, how it grew, and in some cases she can profile the arsonist himself. If she isn’t psychic, she’s damn close. If that fire the other night was arson, no matter how good the pro was who set it, she’ll know. She met her husband, Jake, last year when they brought her in to help stop a man who’d killed more than thirty people using fire as his weapon. It was a complicated case that ended up being related to several other unsolved cases. Before that, she brought down a mob shakedown operation in Los Angeles. She has the best clearance record of any investigator. She’s semiretired and works profiling fires with her husband. He’s a criminal profiler specializing in arson cases, because of his wife, and finding answers for cold cases, especially those involving missing children. He and Amos met a few years ago when Jake was working on a joint FBI-RCMP investigation. Amos Starr is a retired FBI profiler who worked with the behavioral analysis unit. He was one of the best. Vince was going to start looking into Misty, but he’s been called in on a federal case that will take up a lot of time over the next two weeks; he’ll get to her as soon as he can. Since she’s the lady moving in, and Amos is legit, I thought that would be okay.”
The phone rang.
Nick reached for the handset close to him.
“Hello?”
“Hi Nick, it’s Misty. I wanted you to know that Charlotte and her daughter, Christy, will be staying with me until her house is ready. The fire damage restoration people should be able to start on Monday, and it should take about two weeks. Is that all right with you?”
“That’ll be fine. By the way, my personal assistant has arrived from New York and will be staying here as well. Micah and Laura have invited themselves for dinner, sort of a housewarming party for you. That’ll make eight for dinner. I don’t mind springing for pizza — ”
“No, that’s fine,” Misty interrupted. “Laura mentioned she and Micah would be there. I love to cook. We should all be there by four-thirty at the latest. I’ll pick Debbie up at daycare on the way. Are you sure you really want to do this?” He could hear the anxiety in her voice.
“I’ve tasted your cookies. I’m sure. I’ll see you then. Misty, I’m looking forward to having you here.” He ended the call and put the phone down.
Everything had been unpacked; it was amazing what eight trained movers could accomplish in six hours. The men were just finishing the play area. Nick had the playground equipment set up in the tennis court. The area was fenced in and would provide additional security for the children. A wooden play structure had been assembled with two swings, a slide and a playhouse at one end. A load of sand had been brought in and dumped on the red clay court under the structure, leaving room for riding bikes and skipping and whatever else little girls liked to do. An enmeshed trampoline had been set up as well, but if Misty felt the child was too young for it, it could be disassembled.
Child-size patio furniture and a regular-sized picnic table finished off the play yard. Adult patio furniture and an elaborate gas grill now graced the patio that had been landscaped by John and Bill, with Katrina barking orders as they placed potted cedars and planters full of hardy geraniums where she thought they’d look best. He wished he could see the look on Micah’s face when he saw it all. Nathan had worked a miracle, but Nick would take the credit for it.
In Plain Sight Page 10